Why 'm I Here.....

Sometimes some conversations really get on your head, and how so ever may you try to forget them, they keep coming back to you.

I read the ‘Joining The Dots' by Steve Jobs, and since then, I am far more convinced and optimistic that everything happens for a reason,only that you can “connect” it really later in your life.

I remember this small tete-a-tete I once had a friend over coffee, “So what is the purpose of life, an IT job that pays well, a Maruti an year from now, an onsite trip two years hence, a Honda City 10 years from now, and if everything goes well, may be a Hummer, or a Mercedes Benz. “

So while I walk around the magniloquent corridors, a pause to think, what I am heading to, a 10-6 job, that pays well, but intellectually, the learning curve has a slope close to zero, may be I never crossed the threshold in the first place.

As I come back from work everyday, I am left exhausted, with my entire body drained out, till the next morning, as I leave for work, and lock my house. But somehow I have increasingly started to comfort myself, ”ok, not this evening, this one’s going to be the way, I want to mould it, but.. There is only “now”, and the “later”, never speaks for itself ”.So as I procrastinate, evenings after evenings, this dissatisfaction drenches me and I tend to question myself repeatedly, will I be where I want to , the helm of my career, when I grow 50? May be then I will forget what the first monsoon means, the parties on Fridays, may the board rooms will take over the goofy cubicle conversations, but if this be the life I want, and if I want it this bad, there is no way, I will not have it.

Think,Decide,Plan, and its already time to attack !

Best Digaital Camera Under Rs.10000

If you were looking for top 5 digital cameras under Rs. 10000 in India, then this post will help you in choosing the best yet affordable digital camera. There are several digital camera manufacturer producing cameras with various features and configurations, but I’ve made sure to list the digital cameras that does not have some high end technology that we barely use but should have all necessary features to take professional quality photographs.

Do note that all these digital cameras cost within Rs. 10000 (10K INR) and from various brands. The top 5 cameras are : Canon A480, Sony CyberShot W190, Olympus FE-5010, Kodak EasyShare M380 and Samsung ES55.

Canon A480 Digital Camera

Canon A480 Key Features

1. 10 Megapixel camera features 35-122mm lens
2. 3.3x optical zoom with max aperture range from f/3.0 to f/5.8
3. 2.5 inch LCD display screen
4. Records up to 20fps VGA or 30fps QVGA video in JPEG format
5. No built-in memory, SD card is used to store images and videos
6. One year company warranty

Canon A480 is available all over India and costs Rs. 7500 only. This will be the best for you if you take photographs occasionally and don’t need the camera for photography skills.

Sony CyberShot W190

Sony Cyber-Shot W190 Key Specifications

1. Slimmer, sleeker and attractive look to suit young guys
2. 12 Megapixel Cyber-shot camera with 3x optical zoom lens
3. 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA) 30 frames per second video mode
4. 2.7-inch (230K) LCD with viewfinder features
5. Digital Image Stabilization feature to reduce motion blur
6. Face detection, red-eye correction and trimming functions
7. 7 scene modes, USB 2.0, video output support
8. NP-BK1 InfoLithium rechargeable battery to take up to 180 images
9. 12MB built-in memory with extension card slot

Sony Cyber-shot W190 costs Rs. 9800 only and is available in red and black colours.

Olympus FE-5010

Olympus FE-5010 Key Features

1. 12 Megapixel camera sensor with 5x optical zoom
2. 2.7-inch LCD viewfinder
3. Sensitivity ranges from ISO 64-1600
4. Mechanical image stabilization with Digital Image Stabilization
5. 14 scene modes with Intelligent Auto shooting mode to select proper shooting mode automatically
6. Contrast-detection, auto-focus, face detection and tracking features
7. Rechargeable LI-42B Lithium Ion battery
8. 48MB of internal memory with external memory card slot

Olympus FE-5010 costs Rs. 9,500 in India and you can ask your retailer to provide you other freebies like memory card (2GB), carry pouch etc.

Kodak EasyShare M380

Kodak EasyShare M380 Key Specifications

1. 10 megapixel sensor with 38-190mm 5x optical zoom
2. Large 3-inch display screen to view images
3. 16 scene modes, Movie mode and Kodak’s face detection technology
4. Captures VGA (640×480) or QVGA (320×240) clips at 30 fps
5. 32MB internal memory with external memory card slot
6. KLIC-7003 lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack
7. Available in black, purple, red, and teal colours

Kodak EasyShare M380 is one of the best products in it’s category which costs Rs. 9500 only.

Samsung ES55

Samsung ES55 Features

1. 10 Megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom lens
2. 2.5-inch (320K) display LCD
3. Various shooting modes with assist modes for newbies
4. Face Detection, Self Portrait, Red Eye Fix and Multi Slide Show options
5. Sensitivity ranges from ISO 80-1600
6. 9 MB internal memory with SD card slot
7. Li-Ion battery which lasts for about 120+ shots

Samsung ES55 is a stylish digital camera and is available at a very competitive price of Rs. 7000 in India.

Also Read: Best LCD or LED TV under Rs. 35000

Pecha Kucha "I Duobt""

“Pecha Kucha” : For the first time when I heard that I looked as it might be some Chinese cuisine or might be a name some African sprint racer (I would love to hear from you what you think of the name if you are listening for the first time).

For those who have not yet been exposed to this little wave taking over library land, it’s a presentation, or series of presentations. Speakers go 20 by 20, twenty slides twenty seconds each. The slides are supposed to be artistic and metaphorical, and the content is supposed to hit the high notes. Pecha Kucha (“Chit chat” in Japanese) is another presentation format, much like poster sessions, elevator speeches, or un-conferences. It’s not meant to be a replacement for the traditional conference program that is 45~60 minutes long. You also have to remember that the format comes from the design/art profession where they are used to using an image to convey much more information.

There are a few lessons to be learned from the Pecha Kucha format.s
- It is possible to make a good point in 6 minutes 40 seconds. That also means that 45min session could have at least 6 good points 
- You can have a Pecha Kucha presentation run automatically, which means it can be running on a loop at a poster session or display.
- YouTube has a limit of 10 minute videos, so the Pecha Kucha format is ideal.
- It would make a great exercise for student presentations.

There’s probably more but this is what I can think of at the moment.

At Amdocs's recent internal nerd fest, I participated in my first Pecha Kucha night.

I may be getting myself in trouble here, or possibly get my acceptance to speak rebellion, but I will out myself anyway:  I am not a fan of pecha kucha. I get that bad powerpoint is painful. I get that speakers reading their presentation, word for word, is enervating. And I also get that pecha kucha is really entertaining to sit through. But I think, at its core, pecha kucha is anti-intellectual.  It’s ideas without content, all in broad strokes and generalizations. It feels more about the pretty slides than the meat of the matter. And while I like big ideas, and I like being entertained, I also really like the stuff of the stuff. I want the details. Conferences without the details? are twinkies. and ho hos. I like my conference sessions to be … a little more.

I really find myself left with no option but to enjoy the session as a two min. standup comedy,when the presenter trise to tell me how a Application Manager interacts with Resource Manager with showing me a “Love Birds” on the screen.

Pecha kucha supporters — what am I missing? I’ve watched two, I’ve made one, and I just don’t get it. Is it more than an entertaining trend? tell me what you love about the rapid chatter, either as speaker or audience.

 Halt………………half ways in my blog and after having a good chat with some profound brains around me, ‘m into a fuss. Half of me is in complete agreement, but the other half wants to vigorously disagree.I suspect that a certain measure of the problems I identify derive from the presenter(s), rather than the format. But I also agree that the format doesn’t lend itself to details. Many of them, on the other hand, find that most presentations only give them, at most, one really profound takeaway. They appreciate when someone is forced to deliver that profound takeaway in a very tightly-constructed fashion, rather than stretching it over 30-45 minutes.

 Final Conclusion: Our problem is that this format is totally foreign to us and people haven’t learned how to use it yet. Give it time.

Should India repeat "Mission Kill Osama"

America’s successful stealth strike against Osama bin Laden has led many to ask whether India should carry out similar covert operations against targets in Pakistan. The strategic analyst community also asked whether India had the capacity to take out the five or so ‘wanted’ terrorists/criminals who currently reside in Pakistan.

Can India hunt down these men? Army Chief Gen VK Singh and Air Force Chief Air Marshal PV Naik led from the front. Gen Singh said Indian armed forces were “competent” to carry out a similar operation.  Air Chief Marshal P V Naik had also said that India has the capability to carry out such surgical strikes against terrorists. He said, “India can do it.” Intelligence officials also say the US Navy Seals operation could not have been mounted without close cooperation between Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the US’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) – something not possible between India’s Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) and ISI.

However, a battle raged in civil society over whether emasculation of sovereignty was the price to pay for stamping out terrorism.

Being an Indian, I strongly doubt if those are best option for India. Let me categorically put me in simple terms. When 27/11 happened, everyone expected India to go for unilateral strike against terrorist camp, but we didn’t do it, and I understand why ?

India doesn’t enjoy the status that US enjoys. they have stronger voice in security council, much of western nation are pro US lobby. Secondly ,US and Pakistan are strategic partner(at least that’s what they say to whole world). they aid Pakistan, help them getting loan from IMF, World Bank, feed them with latest weapon. So Pakistan need USA in many ways. They are nothing without US and what India is doing to Pakistan ? nothing ? instead we are in logger head.

US military is more than 10 time bigger in terms of weapon, size, technologies, capability. When USA lead Osama operation without anyone’s permission, Pakistan can’t retaliate. They knew that it will lead to wrath of USA generals, and will lead to strong conflict. in that sense, India does have strong army, air force but yet Pakistan will certainly retaliate, as being anti Indian is what makes ISI/Pakistan army keep going on day to day business.

Had India gone for unilateral strike after 26/11, the world would had taken it as a retaliation of a wounded state and most of them wouldn’t had minded to stand beside us, but now that the world order has changed, and with recent Osama saga, the world has become more cautious and any such attempt will be directly considered as infringing the sovereignty of another country.

We cannot afford to be pushed down by anyone into so called “Anti-Islamic” world given the fact that we have the largest population of Muslims in the world.

I believe that covert operations can be mounted to eliminate the threat and impose costs on terror masterminds, but that can only happen when the nation’s civilian-political- defense leadership gives a clearance for creation of specific assets for specific missions.

Benaras: Journey Back into Ages

It is 4:45 AM in a chilling January morning, before you can wish to remain in your bed for some more time, the Azan from a near mosque and ShivStuti from the next temple will remindiing you that you are in the holy city of Varanasi(originally Benaras). I jumped down on the station and the breeze from river Ganga welcomed me,I was feeling like a small kid out into a playground.

I was there with a very tight schedule but then time is a thing which you have to scoop out.

The first day was hectic like hell, from morning 5:30 am till 9:00 pm. All I remember is my bed.

Day two was little free and we know where to head to.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple and 84 Ghats
The temple is dedicated to the prime deity of Vanarasi – Vishwanath, an identity of Lord Shiva. It is also known as the Golden Temple for its 15.5 metre high spire coated with one ton of gold plating and which is standing gracefully in Varanasi. The temple was destroyed during various invasions and was rebuilt by Rani Ahilyabai of Indore in 1776. You can even offer 'puja' in the temple and there are holy saints in the temple premises to help you out. But it is always advisable to go for some authorized persons which your guide will help you to find out.At the temple gate you will have to go through a security checking and you are requested to co-operate with the guards. You will have to leave your mobile phone there. Any kind of baggage or food item is not admissible inside the temple premises and hence you are requested to leave them in your hotel or bus.

Next we headed to the Ghats. There are some 84 ghats in a line. You will find all kind of people there, Babas, Sadhus, Aghori Babas, Naga, Foreigners and many more with even more priorities. It was 5:30pm and thing were tuning up for the world famous “Ganga Aarti”. Wish we could had waited to witness this heavenly affair but then time didn’t allowed us.

Day three was almost free, and we dicided to hit Sarnath.

Sarnath
Come Sarnath and you will find yourself placed somewhere in Tibet or Korea. Sarnath situated at a distance of 8 km from Varanasi is one of the most important sites of Buddhist circuits. It still holds the reminiscence of Lord Buddha which is savored by thousands of tourists every year coming from different parts of the world. As you take a walk in the ancient roads and lanes, you may have a spine chilling experience with the feeling that Lord might had walked on the same road some thousand years back. The Sarnath complex houses the remains of a Buddhist monastic settlement which are till now alive with the fragrance Buddhist divinity. Dharma Chakra Stupa is a must see place in Sarnath where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon after attaining salvation. Though we were roaming there as stupid, the area was alive when the devotees fill the ambiance enchanting Sanskrit mantra.

Once you are in Sarnath, do not miss to visit the museum which contains some exquisite 6th or 11th century Buddhist icons excavated from the site, which may just leave you bedazzled. Don't miss to have the experience. It in-house the famous “Ashoka Chakra” and “Char Singh” emblem in the central porch. If you a human , you cannot avoid admiring the brilliance of the sculptures. Every cut identical, every Curve identical.

    

Last day in the city we were in no mood to miss the best part of the city.

Banaras Hindu University
The University is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 12,000 students living on its campus. Established at the beginning of this century, Benaras Hindu University is famous for having an excellent Sanskrit school. The Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum inside the university campus is one of the best museums in India and deserves a close look from your side. The big statue of Krishna holding Govardhana Hill, dating from the fourth century is no doubt the prime attraction of the museum.

For all those who believe that the best of Indian beauties lives in Delhi or Chandigarh, come BHU and you will repent. You have to be here to see how a girl can look so damm beautiful even in a Indian attire. Not a single face to avoid. That whole evening, we kept roaming in the campus admiring natural beauties(of both sense) and left the city with many fond memories of the city and its people.

Read my other travel experiences like Dandeli Jungle Safari, Kundilika River-rafting, Bhimashankar Treking, Benaras:Journey Back into Ages,Konkan Railways